Throughout the Patriots' dynasty, fans from the other 31 teams decided that New England fans complained too much about NFL officials, as they believed Tom Brady and the Patriots benefited from bad calls rather than suffered from them, and therefore, the fans could never complain about bad officiating ever again.
Although it's never a win to argue about how bad the officiating is in any game, it's difficult to suggest that what we saw in the Patriots-Saints game on Sunday was anything but a flat-out disaster.
Both teams suffered from bad or non-calls, with the Patriots appearing to get the worst of it all day long. Not only did they have over 100 yards away from the offense, most of which came from incredible plays by Drake Maye and DeMario Douglas, but they also took away a 61-yard touchdown, just to make the day even worse.
It drew a lot of criticism from Patriots fans specifically, but they weren't the only ones who took notice of the poor officiating.
The Patriots' game was full of bad officiating, and the league needs to take notice
You know it's bad when even an NFL insider, Jordan Schultz, is tweeting about the referees because they rarely do that.
The officiating in the Patriots-Saints game is one of the worst I've ever witnessed.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 12, 2025
Considering what we saw in New Orleans this week, it doesn't feel like a stretch at all to suggest that might have been the worst officiated game the Patriots have ever had to deal with and overcome in a long, long time.
Fortunately, they were able to reclaim the touchdown that was taken away and eventually secure the win, bringing them to their first above .500 record in three years. It was also their third win in a row, and now they are set to play the Titans on the road in Week 7.
The hope, of course, is they continue to build upon the success they've been having, while also addressing some of their biggest weaknesses moving forward, with a huge emphasis on the run game.